“I have a deal for you.”
“A deal? We tried that, remember? You stole and destroyed a priceless car. You left quite the mess.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But I’m going to make it up to you.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“I’ve already got another job in the works.”
He scoffed. “It’s going to take ten jobs to bring in the money you threw away with that one.”
“Not necessarily,” I replied. “I found a Rimac Nevera R. It’s one of forty.”
“Bullshit.”
“I swear. I found it, and I’ve done my homework. All I need is for you to agree to my deal, and it’s yours.”
“And what is it that you’re wanting?”
“The same thing I’ve always wanted: my freedom. I want out. For good. I hand over the car and walk away. We never see one another again. Do we have a deal?”
“You really want to throw away the millions of dollars I pay you every year to go and play house with some bar rat?”
“Watch what you say about her,” I warned, lowering my voice as I worked to control my anger.
“Oh, you’re serious about this one, huh?”
I stood and started pacing. “Do we have a deal or not?”
He didn’t answer right away, but after a long pause, he finally said, “Fine, we have a deal. Where do you want the guys for drop off?”
“I’m in L.A. Have them at a place called Skyrocket. I can make the drop, and they can have the car at the ports in minutes since I’m sure you want it out of the country.”
“I’ll have them there tonight, and they’ll make contact in the morning.”
“Fine.” I was pulling the phone away from my ear to hang up when I heard him call out.
“Hey, Oliver.”
“Yeah?” I said, putting the phone back to my ear.
“You know this shit with you and her won’t work out, right?”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“But it kind of does, doesn’t it? I mean, you really think she’s going to stick around once she finds out that you’re the reason her dad died?”
It felt like the air had been sucked from my lungs. My body suddenly grew cold, and tingling erupted throughout. “How do you know about that?”
“I know more than you think I know.” He chuckled. “I know you’re with Amelia Hampton. I recognized her from the pictures the guys sent over as they were following your every step. Well, up until you shook them, that is.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Just stay out of it. I’ll have your car to you by this time tomorrow, and you’ll be out of our lives for good.” I hung up before he could say anything else.
I tightened my hand on the phone. When I heard the plastic crack, I stopped, not wanting to damage it until this deal was done.
“Oliver?” Crash called out from the bathroom.
I tossed the phone onto the dresser as I passed it. I opened the door and entered the small room that was already filled with steam. I could only make out a faint outline through the glass shower door.
